AFTER sparring โapproximately 30 roundsโ with Joe Joyce at Big Bear in California, Tyson Fury โ training for his impending shot at WBC heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder โ left the high-altitude gym to continue his camp at the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles.
There were some rumours that Joyce had given Fury problems, even dropped him. There were others that the 2016 Olympic silver medallist was simply not equipped to give his countryman the kind of workout required.
This week, Team Fury stated that the plan was always to spend only two weeks at Big Bear where Londoner Joyce, who takes on Joe Hanks on this weekendโs Wilder-Fury undercard, trains full-time under Abel Sanchez.
โIt was good competitive spars,โ Joyce told Boxing News. โI didnโt get knocked out, Tyson didnโt get knocked out. Big Bear is a tough place to train, you have to be a certain kind of person because itโs a tough place to train and thereโs not really much going on. Thereโs also the altitude so it does take a good few weeks to get acclimatised to the altitude.
โMaybe if he had stayed an extra week he would have got used to it a bit more. What I do, when Iโm up there, I stay there from Monday to Saturday and then come down to Los Angeles for a couple of days just to break it up. Thereโs really nothing to do there, itโs quite good to come back to reality on the weekends to break it up.
โIf Tyson had come back for the weekends, maybe he [would have stayed in camp longer].
โI guess it set him up. Once you have handled that toughness of the altitude, once you go back down the hill you can do more rounds. I think maybe he wanted to spike his fitness, maybe that was his plan all along.โ
Despite relocating in the USA, Joyceโs own plan remains a fight with another spar mate, Anthony Joshua, in 2020. First, Joyce wants to establish himself in America and judging by the interest in him in Los Angeles, people are starting to take notice. The first step is defeating former prospect Hanks, 35, on Saturday night.
โThereโs not that many good heavyweights in the US so I want to capture that market,โ Joyce explained. โMy next fight next year can be in the UK, there are options there. But Iโm not doing too badly am I? Iโm fighting on one of the biggest cards out here, I could be in York Hall.
โIโm taking steps, Iโm going with the flow. Hopefully soon it will be my name topping the bill.
โI think by next year I should be doing big things and, maybe 2020, I will be fighting for the world title.
โI would like to at least have a title before fighting Joshua so at least I have a bigger bargaining chip. I donโt want to go into that fight just being the โopponentโ.โ
Joyce was trained by Cuban Ismael Salas when he turned professional in 2017 but has seen his game improve since joining Sanchez, who also trains Gennady Golovkin, in the summer.
โIsmael Salas changed my style, he really helped me,โ Joyce explained. โSince moving to Abel [Sanchez] I have picked up on the training stuff that Golovkin does and throw those nice angular hooks. I think staying up in Big Bear has taught me how to discipline myself and knuckle down with no distractions.
โIโm used to it [being away from home]. When I was with GB Iโd be training in Sheffield and then come home at weekends. I like it at Big Bear, thereโs so much fresh air and clear skies, itโs always sunny.โ
Joyce is certain he will beat Hanks this weekend but is not so sure about Fury against Wilder.
โHeโs got his fitness back and heโs got a new team in with Ben Davison,โ Joyce told Boxing Scene. โIt was world class sparring and he did some good rounds with me and Guido Vianello. We were both taking it in turns to spar Tyson.
โHe doesnโt wear a head guard in sparring, heโs got such head movement and angles, he switch hits, itโs really top level sparring. Itโs very competitive spars with me and Tyson, or me and Guido, or Guido and Tyson.
โSince then he went down to the Wild Card gym and heโs based himself there. He was sparring Jonathan Rice whoโs a good strong fighter and also Lawrence Okolie, my former GB teammate, who has the same kind of physique as Wilder, unpredictable, kind of raw style. Heโs had some great preparation so we should see the best of Tyson Fury.
โI hope he does win. I think itโs going to be a tough one, but I donโt know whoโs going to win.โ